A number of UCLA baseball players have shed their customary blue and gold to put on different jerseys this summer.
And coach John Savage does not have a problem with it.
That’s because 16 of his players will compete in leagues scattered throughout the country to improve for next season. Savage knows that any team’s hopes of reaching the College World Series start when school is out.
The Bruins’ successful pitching tandem of Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole, who both earned spots on the USA National Team’s final 22-man roster, headline the group that will be active this summer.
“It’s an invaluable experience that will help our program,” Savage said. “Guys come back and have a little different walk to them. They have a different presence about them.”
Both Cole and Bauer, who will be sophomores next season, have made starts on the mound against Canada for the USA National Team at the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
With an impressive outing on Friday, Cole tossed 6 and two-thirds scoreless innings. The All-Pac-10 first-team member allowed just three hits and struck out 12 to earn the victory.
Bauer, Collegiate Baseball’s National Freshman Pitcher of the Year, surrendered five runs in his start the following night. He lasted only 4 and two-thirds innings and did not register a decision.
Though Bauer called the accomplishment of being named to the squad a “big honor,” he admitted that he would like to limit his number of pitches this summer. The 18-year-old led UCLA’s pitching staff last season with 105.1 innings pitched.
“It’s really up to the coaches how much I pitch, depending on how I perform on the field, obviously,” Bauer said. “The coaches talk a lot about being careful with guys, and they’re aware of that fact with the pitching staff. I’m really not worried about it at all; I trust the coaches.”
Four Bruins ““ juniors Niko Gallego, Matt Grace and Rob Rasmussen and sophomore Tyler Rahmatulla ““ are competing in the Cape Cod League in Massachusetts. Gallego (Brewster Whitecaps), Grace (Cotuit Kettleers) and Rahmatulla (Chatham Anglers) are in the Cape for the first time, while Rasmussen returns for his second summer with the Orleans Firebirds.
Another 10 players are competing for teams in the New England Collegiate League, Northwoods League and West Coast League.
Players utilize the summer to gain experience and work toward UCLA’s ultimate goal: a trip to Omaha, Neb., the site of the College World Series. Bauer said that he was bitter and frustrated as he watched a few College World Series games on television.
“It was tough to watch,” he said. “We had talent this year to be there, but we didn’t perform. I talked to a couple of other guys on the team, and they feel the same way. Hopefully there will be other teams watching us (next year). That’s the goal.”